(3 hours ago)NEtransport wrote Why? They didn’t want to operate it commercially but if they’ve put the cheapest bid in then no reason why they wouldn’t be awarded it.

And that's why the deregulated market is such a mess. Costs to the public purse spiralling, because operators can do this, and they have done for years. 

The worst examples are operators chucking services, losing the tender that's put out, then deciding they can run it commercially after all.